MINNEAPOLIS – The Penn State women's gymnastics team (6-3, 0-1 Big Ten) fell to No. 16 Minnesota 196.225 to 195.525 on Saturday night.
"I thought we were better than our scores reflected tonight," said head coach Sarah Brown. "It's tough to compete on the road, but our team is showing a lot of fight each meet. We made a few lineup changes and saw some new athletes in exhibition and I'm proud of how our team continues to have each other's backs. They're covering for mistakes, they're sticking together, and they're enjoying representing Penn state University."
Four career highs and three season-bests just weren't enough to topple Penn State's first Big Ten opponent of the season. Minnesota posted six scores of 9.900-or-better to edge out the Nittany Lions.
In her first Big Ten action, freshman all-arounder Ava Piedrahita stepped up in a big way, with three career highs that keep the Nittany Lions in the fight all night long. Sophomore Jessica Johanson's career-high score on the balance beam combined with Piedrahita's excellent night against a top-25 Big Ten foe bode well for the future of Penn State's young core.
ROTATION RECAP
Penn State started off its night on bars where it received three scores of 9.800-or-better for a solid beginning. Junior Gabbie Gallentine posted a 9.825 followed by a season-high 9.825 from sophomore Elina Vihrova and two more 9.800s from senior Cassidy Rushlow and freshman Ava Piedrahita set a foundation for the Nittany Lions with a 49.000 right out of the gate.
Piedrahita's career-best 9.875 on vault highlighted another solid event for Penn State. Junior Maddie Johnston turned in a season-high 9.800, while sophomores Isabella Salcedo and Vihrova each posted a 9.775. The Nittany Lions posted a 48.925 on the event as they continued their strong showing.
On the floor, Salcedo recorded a season-best 9.825 to lead the way for Penn State. 9.775 scores from Johnston and Piedrahita rounded out the top-three scorers as a couple small errors slowed down the Nittany Lions on the apparatus as they recorded a 48.625.
The Nittany Lions rounded out the night on beam where they received career-bests from sophomore Jessica Johanson (9.825) and Piedrahita (9.775). Herring matched Johanson's 9.825 with one of her own and the duo of Johnston and Rushlow each scored a 9.775. Penn State finished strong with a 48.975, its second-highest score of the night.
The Nittany Lions, once again, had three all-arounders compete in all four events, with a career-best 39.225 from Piedrahita taking second place in the meet.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Nittany Lions return home to Rec Hall where it will host Rutgers on Monday, Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. in its first Big Ten Network televised meet of the season.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensGymnastics) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewgym).
